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coondoggie writes "NASA today said the final space shuttle flight should take place July 8 at about 11:40 am EDT from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It will be the 135th and final mission of NASA's storied Space Shuttle Program. NASA said the July date is based on current planning, and an official launch date will be announced following the June 28 Flight Readiness Review. That review of course could delay the flight, since there are a few technical issues to address."

It's disheartening to see the way that we (the USA) have withdrawn from science over the last 40 years.

We have allowed the shuttle to reach End Of Life without any suitable replacement.We have discontinued manned (and unmanned) flights to the moon.We have withdrawn funding from stem cell research over religious issues.We have reduced Darwin to a theory on par with creationism in some textbooks and in schools in some states.We have a large body of people believing that global warming doesn't exist because Al Gore produced books and movies about it, so it's a liberal conspiracy.We have made science a dirty word because it conflicts with some people's beliefs.and on, and on.

In China, 8 of the 9 members of the top politburo are engineers. In the USA, lawyers are the most represented profession in Congress. Which country is more likely to consider science and technology important?

Right now, it's hard to see how the USA can stop the slow downward shuffle.